Immigration newsletter 30 Jul 2013

The Province of Quebec in Canada has announced that the Quebec Skilled Worker Program will be reformed from August 1st 2013. The new QSWP will accept only 20,000 applications from people without Quebec job offers each year. 

Successful applicants will receive a Canadian permanent resident visa. From August onwards, applicants will receive no points for language ability unless they speak and understand French to an intermediate level.

Priority will be given to certain professions including doctors, dentists, nurses, engineers and tradespeople. For further information see our website.

The UK government has announced several proposals to tackle illegal immigration which may become law later this year. The main proposal is to double the maximum fine for employers who employ illegal workers from £10,000 to £20,000. Fines will be recoverable from directors if a company is dissolved before the fine is paid.

Immigration minister Mark Harper said that the government would also make it easier for employers to employ legal immigrants who have come to the UK onTier 2 work visas. 

A Freedom of Information Act request has revealed that Australian Immigration was concerned in 2008 that many Indian applicants were gaining Australian visas with forged documents. A report written in 2009 stated that Australia could not be sure that Indian documents were genuine unless the Indian government improved its passport and identification systems.

Australian immigration believed that nearly half of Indian Skilled Migration applications in 2008/9 were fraudulent as were nearly 40% of student visa applications. DIAC says that it is now satisfied that, 99.9% of Indian applicants are genuine.

We are specialists in UK immigration services and have 25 years of experience helping people to move to the UK for work purposes.  We can help with UK Tier 2 visa applications, as well as with Tier 1 visa applications for entrepreneurs and investors.  

We can also help you settle in the UK by dealing with your Indefinite Leave to Remain or citizenship applications. We also help with other immigration services such as applications for sponsorship licences for Tier 2 and Tier 5 employers and for Tier 4 student visas.  

We have been working in the field of immigration for 25 years and have experts who can help you with all your immigration needs. Why not give us a call now for a free consultation?

A Democratic Congressman, Luis Gutierrez, says that the immigration reform bill before the US Congress now has enough support in the House of Representatives to become law. He has called on the Republican speaker to allow a vote.

Mr Gutierrez, a Democrat from Illinois, says that the bill has the support of about 50 Republicans which, along with the support of Democrats, would provide the required majority for the bill to become law. The bill would increase the cap on H-1B temporary work visas to over 150,000 annually and allow doctoral and PhD graduates of US universities to apply for US permanent resident visas. 

The UK Prime Minister David Cameron has been criticised by business leaders after agreeing that immigration was 'a constant drain' on the UK economy while on a visit to a car factory. 

Dr Steve Davis of The Institute for Economic Affairs said that immigrants are actually younger than the general population and less likely to be unemployed. They are ‘overwhelmingly net contributors to the public purse'.

John Wastnage, of the British Chambers of Commerce said 'The whole of the government's immigration policy is very damaging to the economy. Immigrants are more likely to work, use fewer services and claim less benefits '.